The Common Union

The force of a union has been seen since the 1500-1600's when English Workhouses would bring in the poor and unfortunate masses and make them work for the common good; in return getting shelter and food. Essentially this benefited the society more than the man. However, it was a quite common way of distinguishing the poor from the unfit. You could consider the term "Nobility in Poverty" coined during this age. As the years ran by the term union shifted.

During the dawn of the industrial age, many workers found themselves abused by corporate masters - steel workers, mine workers, truck drivers, assemblers and welders all were abused with low wages, unfit working conditions and the dire risk of unemployment if they dare complain. As a result the modern day union was born. The concept revolved around the "masses" and "collective bargaining", where by the workers united and created a common force; this meant the owner couldn't simply fire whomever they wanted, because the entire organization would leave. And here is where a power equality began. Now owners were forced to 'deal' with workers and meet their needs, vice simply firing them and moving to the next. This was a colossal step forward for the work force. However, like many things designed by man, this became abused, and as a result we have the unions of today.

When unionized workers were first conceived there was no concept of common litigation as we have today, and nowhere near the theory of the importance and access to media. Now instead of working for the so-called common good, unions abuse the organization - essentially doing exactly what they were created to stop nearly 100 years ago. Now unions fly under a flag of untouched dominance, feeling as though they can push an organization around for more money, more benefits and essentially a very easy lifestyle - though this doesn't generally trickle down to the actual unionized worker in mass.

Like most organized things, there are leaders and the leaders usually look to protect their leadership - hence groups like SEIU, AWU and the like. Now these unions have done an outstanding job of convincing their ilk that they are fighting for their best interests - the the company is bad, and they are good. However they seem to leave out key parts of this discussion, such as all the risk is on the owner not the employee, and that without the owner there is now company to unionize against.

I was thrilled when Hostess fought back against a union of bakers, which almost seems laughable - bakers needed a union? Really working conditions were so poor in modern day America that a union was needed? Or was the union simply used to bend-over the owner? And I appreciated Wal-Mart saying no as well. When we live in a nation with near 9% unemployment it takes outstanding audacity to protest working. Only in America could we take something, the union, that was meant to balance the field and ruin it. Similar to our other debacles in race and sex; where we attempt to 'know' how to tilt the board. America, thrive.